Counter balancing car seat carry strap with dual lock mechanisms

ABSTRACT

A carrying device for supporting a load, such as an infant car seat, on a person is disclosed. The device comprises a primary strap that has a first end and a second end. Each end terminates in one of two cooperating parts of a primary locking mechanism. A secondary strap has a first end and a second end. The first end of the secondary strap is fixed proximate the first end of the primary strap. A secondary, redundant locking mechanism has two cooperating parts. One part being fixed to the second end of the secondary strap and the other part being fixed proximate the second end of the primary strap.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication 60/910,544, filed on Apr. 6, 2007, and incorporated hereinby reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to carrying straps, and more particularly to animproved car seat carrying device.

DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART

Numerous innovations for slings for infant car seats have been providedin the prior art that will be described. Even though these innovationsmay be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which theyaddress, they differ from the present invention.

A FIRST EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,680, issued on Dec. 7, 1993, toTorok teaches a carrying sling for an infant carrier or car seat. Thesling uses a strap held in the hand or across the shoulder from whichthe occupied carrier is suspended by means of multiple support straps.The support straps contain length adjustors and buckles which allow thesling to open for loading and unloading the carrier. The support strapsare also provided with means of attachment to the carrier frame.

A SECOND EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,365, issued on Jul. 30, 1996, toLaMair teaches a shoulder strap suspension system which has been devisedfor infant car seats of the rigid or molded shell type, the suspensionsystem being made up of a shoulder strap and an undercarriage whichreleasably surrounds the end and side walls of the car seat and servesas an anchor or support for connecting ends of the shoulder strap eitherin a two point or a three point suspension, and contoured hip pads areprovided on either or both sides of the car seat.

A THIRD EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 6,378,746 B1, issued on Apr. 30, 2002, toMiller teaches a sling for transporting a conventional infant carrierseat having a generally rigid body provided with a pivoted carrierhandle wherein the sling includes a sling member having a padded uppersegment fabricated from a length of resilient material and having anelongated slot formed therein dimensioned to receive a main strapelement adapted to define a first adjustable closed loop opening whereinthe main strap element is further provided with an auxiliary strapelement which cooperates with the main strap element to define a secondadjustable closed loop opening that capitively receives the handle ofthe conventional infant carrier seat.

A FOURTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 6,378,937 B1, issued on Apr. 30, 2002,to Faudman teaches an apparatus for the assisted portage of automobiletypes of infant-seats separate from an automobile that includes a coiledholder with an extensible strap that is attached to one side of theinfant-seat and a screw-eye that is attached to the other side. Theextensible strap includes a first end with a fastening device such as aspring clip that is attached to the screw-eye when the strap is extendedout of the coiled holder and over the shoulder of a user. The extensiblestrap is set for any desired length and is locked at that position bythe coiled holder or it is automatically retracted therein dependingupon the position of a locking toggle on the coiled holder. Preferably,the coiled holder is attached to one side of a handle of the infant-seatat a pivot axis for the handle and the screw-eye is attached to theopposite side. The pivot axis is disposed proximate the center ofgravity and therefore optimally supports the infant-seat. When it isdraped over the shoulder and locked in position, the extensible strap isused as a shoulder strap to assist in supporting some of the weight ofthe infant-seat.

A FIFTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 7,125,071 B2, issued on Oct. 4, 2006, toAiudi teaches a strap for carrying a load from a person's shoulder,comprising a flexible band forming a relatively larger, upper loop forpassing over the person's shoulder and a relatively smaller, lower loopfor attaching the load, wherein the upper and lower loops are connectedto form a figure eight. The lower loop includes a buckle for opening thelower loop to receive the load and closing the lower loop to capture theload within the lower loop. Another embodiment is directed to thecombination of (1) an infant seat having a base, a bedding region withinthe base, and a handle projecting from the base over the bedding region,and (2) a flexible band forming a relatively smaller lower loopincluding a buckle for opening and closing the lower loop to capture thehandle, and a relatively larger, upper loop for passing over theperson's shoulder, whereby the infant seat with infant therein is fullysupportable from the person's shoulder when the upper loop lies over theperson's shoulder.

Slings for infant car seats have been in use for years. Some currentlyavailable slings for infant car seats are, “The Cuddle Karrier”, “TheBaby Lift Strap” by Creative Baby Stuff and “The Flying Falcon Car SeatCarrier”. The main problem with these connection slings is that theseexisting products do not comprise any type of secondary or backuplocking system. In the event the connection of these slings fail duringusage, either through parts fatigue or any incomplete connection, theinfant car seat and child may fall.

It is apparent now that numerous innovations for slings for infant carseats have been provided in the prior art that are adequate for variouspurposes. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable forthe specific individual purposes to which they address, accordingly,they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention asheretofore described.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

AN OBJECT of the present invention is to provide a carrying device thatavoids the disadvantages of the prior art.

ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is to provide a carrying devicethat is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

STILL ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is to provide a carryingdevice that is simple and more comfortable to use than the prior artdevices.

STILL ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is to provide a carryingdevice that is collapsible into a compact size and shape so as to fitinto a diaper bag, pants pocket, or other convenient place fortransport.

STILL ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is to provide a carryingdevice that is easily cleaned such as by washing in a washing machine,or the like.

BRIEFLY STATED, STILL YET ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is toprovide a carrying device for supporting a load on a person with aredundant locking mechanism. The device comprises a primary strap thathas a first end and a second end. Each end terminates in one of twocooperating parts of a primary locking mechanism. A secondary strap hasa first end and a second end. The first end of the secondary strap isfixed proximate the first end of the primary strap. A secondary lockingmechanism has two cooperating parts. One part being fixed to the secondend of the secondary strap and the other part being fixed proximate thesecond end of the primary strap.

The novel features which are considered characteristic of the presentinvention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself,however, both as to its construction and its method of operation,together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be bestunderstood from the following description of the specific embodimentswhen read and understood in connection with the accompanying drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The Figures of the drawings are briefly described as follows:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the invention being installed overa shoulder of a person and through a handle of an infant car seat; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the invention completely installed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the figures, in which like numerals indicate likeparts, and particularly to FIGS. 1 through 5, the present invention,will be discussed with reference thereto. A carrying device 10 isprovided for supporting a load 20 on a person 30. The load 20 may be aninfant car seat as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, for example. The device 10comprises a primary strap 40 that has a first end 44 and a second end46. Each end 44, 46 terminates in one of two cooperating parts 51, 52 ofa primary locking mechanism 50. A secondary strap 60 has a first end 64and a second end 66. The first end 64 of the secondary strap 60 is fixedproximate the first end 44 of the primary strap 40. A secondary lockingmechanism 70 has two cooperating parts 71, 72. One part 71 being fixedto the second end 66 of the secondary strap 60 and the other part 72being fixed proximate the second end 46 of the primary strap 40.

The primary strap 40 and secondary strap 60 are preferably two-inch widelengths of polypropylene webbing, typically rated at 1200 pounds oftensile strength. Alternately, the webbing may be made from nylon, orother suitably strong yet flexible material.

The primary locking mechanism 50 is preferably a two-part snap releasebuckle 80, while the secondary locking mechanism 70 is preferably atwo-part hook-and-loop type fastener 90. The carrying device 10 mayfurther include a shoulder pad 100 which is either slidably engaged withor fixed to the primary strap 40. The secondary strap 60 may be fixed tothe primary strap 40 with a sewn thread 110, or alternately withultrasonic welding or the like. The carrying device 10, as shown in FIG.5, may further include a cell-phone pocket 120 which can be slidablyattached to either the primary strap 40 or the secondary strap 60. Thecarrying device 10 may also contain an adjustable slide 130 fixed to thesecond end 46 of the primary strap 40 and be slidably fixed to a loop 45thereof.

To use the carrying device 10, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the person 30simply places the shoulder pad 100 that's on the primary strap 40 ontoone's shoulder. The second part 52 of the primary locking mechanism 50is inserted through a handle 25 of the infant car seat 20, or otherload, which is opposite from the shoulder of the person 30. The secondpart 52 is then engaged with the first part 51 of the primary lockingmechanism 50. The first part 71 and the second part 72 of the secondarylocking mechanism 70 are then connected together. When the person 30utilizes the primary locking mechanism 50 in conjunction with thesecondary locking mechanism 70 in the carrying device 10, it makes theperson 30 feel a greater level of confidence and security during thetransportation of the infant in the infant carrying seat outside of avehicle, knowing that either the primary locking mechanism 50 or thesecondary locking mechanism 70 each independently can support the load20 should one of the locking mechanism 50,70 fail.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofconstructions differing from the type described above. While theinvention has been illustrated and described as embodiments of acarrying device, accordingly it is not limited to the details shown,since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications,substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the deviceillustrated and its operation can be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the scopeof the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge,readily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitutecharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.

1. A carrying device for supporting a load on a person, the devicecomprising: a primary strap having a first end and a second end, eachend terminating in one of two cooperating parts of a primary lockingmeans; a secondary strap having a first end and a second end, the firstend of the secondary strap fixed proximate the first end of the primarystrap; a secondary locking means having two cooperating parts, one partbeing fixed to the second end of the secondary strap and the other partbeing fixed proximate the second end of the primary strap.
 2. Thecarrying device of claim 1 wherein the primary locking means is atwo-part snap release buckle.
 3. The carrying device of claim 1 whereinthe secondary locking means is a two-part hook-and-loop type fastener.4. The carrying device of claim 1 further including a shoulder pad fixedto the primary strap.
 5. The carrying device of claim 4 wherein theshoulder pad is slidably fixed to the primary strap.
 6. The carryingdevice of claim 1 wherein the secondary strap is fixed to the primarystrap with a sewn thread.
 7. The carrying device of claim 1 wherein thesecondary strap is fixed to the primary strap with ultrasonic welding.8. The carrying device of claim 1 further including a cell-phone pocketslidably attachable to either the primary strap or the secondary strap.9. The carrying device for supporting a load on a person, the devicecomprising: a primary strap having a first end and a second end, thefirst end terminating in one of two cooperating parts of a primarylocking means, the second cooperating part being slidably fixed to theprimary strap proximate the second end thereof, an adjustable slidefixed to the second end of the primary strap and slidably fixed to aloop thereof, a secondary strap having a first end and a second end, thefirst end of the secondary strap fixed proximate the first end of theprimary strap; a secondary locking means having two cooperating parts,one part being fixed to the second end of the secondary strap and theother part being fixed proximate the second end of the primary strap.10. The carrying device of claim 9 wherein the primary locking means isa two-part snap release buckle.
 11. The carrying device of claim 9wherein the secondary locking means is a two-part hook-and-loop typefastener.
 12. The carrying device of claim 9 further including ashoulder pad fixed to the primary strap.
 13. The carrying device ofclaim 9 wherein the shoulder pad is slidably fixed to the primary strap.14. The carrying device of claim 9 wherein the secondary strap is fixedto the primary strap with a sewn thread.
 15. The carrying device ofclaim 9 wherein the secondary strap is fixed to the primary strap withultrasonic welding.
 16. The carry device of claim 9 further including acell-phone pocket slidably attachable to either the primary strap or thesecondary strap.